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Ezcema


indigomama
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DS 5 has had bad eczema since he was born. Doctors have prescribed steroid creams, and we have avoided dairy because it tends to really aggravate his skin.

 

Last summer DS would get huge flair-up under his his wet swim trunks, on the back of his knees. They would get so chapped, they would start to bleed. 

 

This weekend his wrists broke out in a really bad rash. It looks just like the ones he used to get on his knees, but it's only on his wrists and knuckles.

 

Has anyone had any success with anything besides steroid creams for clearing up eczema?

Is it common to only be on joints?

Should I be looking into something else affecting him?

 

Thanks!

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1. Stop having him bathe. Seriously, save it for when he is filthy. Water is your enemy, it is very drying. When he does bathe, keep it as room temp as you can. The warmer, the worse it is. No soap when he does. Plain old water will wash off the dirt just fine. If you feel you really have to use soap, use an oatmeal soap or glycerin. Try to avoid scents.

 

2. Elocon in the tub. Slather it on at night before bed. Also use immediately after bathing.

 

3. In the winter, put a humidifier in his room. It doesn't have to make the windows steam, but make sure the air isn't too dry. 

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Thanks.

 

1. We don't do too many baths, I'm trying to convince him to take showers, but he doesn't like the water pouring on his head. We only use California Baby soap or Dove.

 

2. Elocon is a steroid cream? Put it in the tub? We've used Eucerin and Cetaphil, per the doctors suggestions, but neither really relieve it much.

 

3. It has been really dry here, I will put the humidifier on, great idea.

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My husband and my son both have bad eczema. Flexor surfaces of joints is the most common area for it. It can be exacerbated by allergy but it's not always a direct allergic response. 

 

If it's on his wrist/knuckes do you have a new handsoap or sanitizer? Those can be really drying to the hands and might be the culprit for why it's worse. 

 

Things that help...

*Bathing/Swimming/Water can be your friend IF you don't let them dry off after. Use lukewarm water, limit the soap. When you do use soap make it really gentle soap (Cetaphil, Dove). When my son gets out of the bath or shower I let him have his towel for like 2 minutes and then I take it away and moisturize the heck out of him.:) That traps the water on his skin and helps a lot. If he doesn't moisturize immediately the water is very drying. 

 

*Bleach baths do help. It's about one cup per tub of bleach. It's less than a swimming pool. It cuts down on Staph colonization which almost everyone with eczema has and which contributes to the itch/scratch cycle. One of the dermatologists I know jokes that he writes prescriptions for daily swimming for his eczema patients with the caveat that they have to moisturize right after. 

 

*Good moisturizers: Eucerin, Aquaphor. Anything that is thick and in a jar. Dh uses Acid Mantle which is very good but very expensive. Most pharmacies have it but they keep it behind the counter, it's not a prescription though. 

 

*Use the steroids when it flares. Typically we do twice a day for a week or two along with being really diligent about the moisturizing. Then when it gets better we go to just the moisturizer. 

 

*Use all "free" detergents/fabric softeners, etc. Dh is particularly sensitive to this. Usually it's him that accidentally buys the wrong kind at the store and then is too frugal to toss it but it makes a huge difference for him. 

 

*Some people outgrown eczema but it never really clears up. It's chronic. You can make it a lot better but it won't really go away. It will flare and get better and flare and get better, etc. 

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Our ds3 has had horrible eczema since birth, just like you describe (including the rawness/bleeding). And actually, our dermatologist recommended a short daily bath in lukewarm water, followed by slathering him head to toe with a good moisturizer (we use Aveeno Baby eczema lotion, but Cetaphil, etc. would work too). We don't wash him every day, but we use unscented Dove when we do, per the doctor. We then treat any spots on his body with a corticosteroid cream, topped with Aquaphor. It seems like overkill, but we've been fighting this for years, and this routine is the first one that's made a difference. He has been virtually eczema-free on his body for a couple of months now.

 

This winter, though, he has had a terrible case around his mouth.This is the first time it's really affected his face. We've been through three different prescriptions and nothing has touched it. We are currently using Elidel, which is a non-steroid and can be used indefinitely (every time the steroids would start to work he'd have to go off of them). His face looks the best it's looked in months -- almost completely clear. Fingers crossed that this one does the trick.

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We did frequent soaking baths and then put coconut oil on the skin afterwards to lock in moisture.  Avoiding dairy did help.  My worse eczema kid needed steroid cream to clear it about once a month.  The rest of the time, I could stave it off with the baths and coconut oil. 

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Thanks.

 

1. We don't do too many baths, I'm trying to convince him to take showers, but he doesn't like the water pouring on his head. We only use California Baby soap or Dove.

 

2. Elocon is a steroid cream? Put it in the tub? We've used Eucerin and Cetaphil, per the doctors suggestions, but neither really relieve it much.

 

3. It has been really dry here, I will put the humidifier on, great idea.

 

I'm sorry. I seem to have lost my brain. (I even just spelled seem as seam.....) Even showers aren't good. I mean go without washing but about once a week. We tried the moisturizing immediately after bathing, but it was still too much for dd. She did much better with just skipping the bath/shower completely. Since it is on his wrists, he may need to be skipping hand washing also. I probably said Elocon because it is the only thing that actually helps dd when things get bad. I meant Eucerin! The Eucerin that comes in a tub not a lotion bottle. I do have a friend who has the Elocon put into the Eucerin at the pharmacy for her dd. Dermatologist prescribed it to be used that way. 

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Thanks MicheleinIN- I hadn't ever heard that about the bleach. I will give it a try. We were also looking into swim lessons for recreation, but they might be helpful in other ways too :)

 

Alice: Thank you for the long thoughtful response. I haven't used anything new that I can remember, but I'll ask him if it's tried something new, at church or something.

 

I'm going to look into the Acid Mantle, too. I have some other thick creams/lotions but they just seem to take so long to "sink in", and his hands are getting really chapped. Maybe something stronger to get things under control, then I will be extra diligent with the Ceptaphil. 

 

I'm so sorry to hear your son and DH deal with it too. And bummed to hear it's a chronic issue. Thanks again for your post.

 

PeachyDoodle: I hope your son will heal up soon. Thanks for sharing what has worked for your family!

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Egyptian Magic cream is a wonder. Works like magic. Try going wheat free and soy free, if you can. Those 3 things helped my little guy the most. Oh and we use Aveeno lotion. The others you mentioned made his flare dreadfully. A little Aveeno packet in the bath helped, too.

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My son has had eczema off and on for years.  This winter it has been horrible!  The dermatologist prescribed light therapy and after about 4 weeks, DS's skin is markedly improved.   Using the mite free pillow cases and bed case does seem to help.

 

Also, in our old house DS had eczema problems until we replaced the carpeting with laminate.  When we moved to a new house  w/carpet about 4 years ago, he had renewed flare ups.  But we also moved to a new state, so I do not know if the carpet is  associated with his eczema (and asthma).  In any case, we are finally getting the carpet removed later this spring.  I will definitely be paying attention to his symptoms after switchign flooring (haven't decided if we will get laminate again or wood).

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We did frequent soaking baths and then put coconut oil on the skin afterwards to lock in moisture.  Avoiding dairy did help.  My worse eczema kid needed steroid cream to clear it about once a month.  The rest of the time, I could stave it off with the baths and coconut oil. 

 

 

:iagree: This is what I do. I have chronic eczema on my legs. Warm water makes  me feel better, and I don't even dry my legs. I rub coconut oil on my skin and massage the area for several minutes. I use the coconut oil several times throughout the day when I start to feel itchy. I've had bad reactions to anything that locks heat in like Aquaphor, but that's just me. I went completely off of my steroids this past December. I'm not healed, but I'm much better.

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My littlest looks like he has snake skin. We avoid dairy for him and he's on allergy meds. The steroid creams haven't really helped. I picked up a new cream (cerave) tonight based on the recommendation of a friend, but I'm willing to try other things too! :bigear:

 

I have thought about bleach baths. Is it possible to do them this young (11 mos)? How frequently are they done?

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Our now 16yo daughter had eczema when she was an infant, over much of her body. Someone who I trusted said to me, "Use sulfur on it."  I didn't know what she meant so I went to the health food store and they sold me some powder, I believe.  I mixed it with some water and rubbed it on.  We used it for about a week and she hasn't had much of an issue since.  Once in a while she'll get a small patch and then she'll use Eucerin. 

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Oatmeal baths can offer relief. You can buy colloidal oatmeal but I just grind up fine oatmeal in my food processor and put it in the foot of a knee-high pantyhose.

 

The notion that the skin can become addicted to topical steroids is controversial, but I am convinced that this happened to me. I am now four months into topical steroid withdrawal (TSW). If you choose to look into this possibility, try not to let the internet stories scare you. My TSW, while no walk in the park, has not been a horror story - even after decades of topical steroid usage. Only the first six weeks were truly awful. I bring it up just because I wish that I would have realized sooner that I was experiencing " topical steroid induced eczema."

 

ETA: I am also a fan of dermasilk.com fabric products. I wear the gloves and I love them.

 

Hugs to you...eczema can be SO frustrating.

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